ToRn LiVeS
by Angsty Freedom Fighter
Summary: AU, OOCness With a broken family life, and a drunkard excuse for an uncle, how can anyone possibly hope to find light in such darkness? When Tao Ren's life sinks further down a spiral of depression, it takes the effort of HoroHoro and Yoh to return him


ToRn LiVeS

Angsty Freedom Fighter

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Shaman King, yadda yadda…Total A.U.; **major** OOC

**A/N**: I don't really have anything so say about this piece. I started it shortly after I moved, half out of depression and half out of a brilliant writing urge. It's incomplete, so that means that I might have a second chapter for it, depending on the reviews and whatnot. I sure hope that I didn't underrate it. The rating might go up, but I'm not too sure, it's still a sketchy work in progress, and I'm just wiping the dust off it, haha.

**Warning**: The title is very LAME. Look out; it'll poke you in the eye if you look away for too long…

_Just like clockwork…it happens all the time…why do I…even put up with this shit…?_ Tao Ren stared at his reflection with complete and utter disdain, half naked, pale body covered with purple-black bruises, his lithe frame—once the envy of all the boys in his physical education class, and then some—was now to be hidden from view. From the world…like the wicked secret he held back from everybody…even his best friends, Asakura Yoh and Usui 'Horohoro' Hokeru…

Since the death of his father, a great and noble man, his mother had lost interest in everything about life…including her own children…. Lucky for Jun—his elder sister by four years—she was old enough to move out and start a life all her own…but not he. Ren—at a tender age of 16, had to suffer the wrath of his forever-enraged uncle, En, the drunkard (though he was never really like that until the death of his brother) constantly coming home in a stagger and beating the tiger-eyed young man to a point of non-existence.

Ren stared at the disgusting marks on his arm and sighed sadly. _Long sleeves again_, he thought sadly, rooting through his drawers until he came across one of his father's old, traditional Chinese silk shirts. _Father…. why did you have to die? Couldn't you still be here for me? For Mother…? For Jun? For your own brother…?_ He cradled the shirt to his chest, the cool silk a great reprieve from his physical pain. _Why did you die? Why am I to suffer for the family's loss…? Why must I stay with uncle En? Can't I go back to China and live with Mother? I'd be better off there than here in Japan…with uncle En. He'll kill me at this rate…if I don't…kill myself first._

His prayer was carried through the wind…

-

"Good morning Ren chan!" A blue haired boy chirped from behind his seat in the homeroom class. The perkiness of it was enough to scare him…but it was normal for such energy to be coming from the mouth of Hokeru Usui.

"Sama…" Ren grumbled from the protective crooks of his arms folded on the desk as a substitute pillow, "Don't you ever call me 'chan' ever again Horohoro."

Horohoro smiled happily. Though Ren didn't see it, he could just, well, _feel_ it. The Ainu boy stood and started poking at the stubborn cowlick on Ren's head, chuckling mischievously, "Sou, sou, sou…Ren CHAN." He said in a singsong voice, ready to jump back from a deadly blow he expected to receive from his Chinese companion…but when none came, 'Horo' frowned, worried. "…Ren chan…?" no response, so he glanced over to a boy several seats away from them, listening to his orange headphones contently, motioning for him to come over. "Ne, Yoh kun! I think that something's wrong with Ren chan!"

"Ren chan…?" The dark haired boy named Yoh looked up, his content look suddenly contorting into one of worry. He made his way over to his best friends, placing a slender hand on the Chinese boy's forehead, checking for a fever. "Hey Ren chan. Are you not feeling well? Do you need me to tell Amidamaru sensei that you have to go to the clinic?"

Ren slowly shook his head, ignoring the pain that it caused to his sore shoulders and aching arms and neck, "No…I'll…I'll be okay." He lied, his voice subdued—very unlike Ren. Horo and Yoh frowned again, their concern great.

"You lie like a rug…" They muttered in unison, eyes fixed on their aloof companion. Ren sighed, still in the blackness of the crook of his arms, protected.

Protected…such a foreign word.

"Amidamaru sensei." Horo stood up straight, looking very disciplined, "Tao san doesn't look so well. May Asakura and I take him to the infirmary?" Ren looked up to their platinum haired teacher, who looked to the three boys with an understanding gaze.

"Go ahead Usui. Asakura, assist him if you can." Amidamaru's voice cut through the dull sounds of the room, demanding respected (as he was a well respected person by both the school staff and the students). Horo and Yoh both shook their heads, helping Ren up onto his feet, despite his moaning and groaning and lies of being fine…

All was not well…

-

Managing to lie his way through the school day was not as easy as he'd assumed it would be. He had to remain most of the day in the school infirmary in order to ignore his worrying companions, and slip passed the bustling crowd of school peers out to the ends of the school grounds.

He'd made his way back to the house, large and dark and empty—as expected. He was always the first to reach the house, even when not in a hurry to hide from his friends. His uncle, En, would always be at work still, and wouldn't be dragging his drunken carcass home until long into the night, Ren thought with a tone of anger in his every thought-up word. He walked into the kitchen, keeping the house as dark as he could least Horohoro and Yoh came along in order to question him.

He would just pretend not to be home is all.

His trek to the kitchen ended at the fridge, opening it to retrieve a carton of milk he stowed away from view behind several cases of Corona. Not that he was _too_ stingy, but he loved his milk, and there was no way he was going to share it with En—that's the way it had always been. Opening the carton and drinking straight from it, he smiled faintly of a memory of when his father caught him red-handed drinking straight from the carton. The beating he'd gotten to his rear-end that day was enough to make his ancestors wince along with him…

Stowing the milk away safely again, Ren shut the fridge door, a picture hanging from a tacky magnet catching his attention—two smiling faces taunting him, making his eyes sting with sadness and tears. _Father…_ He sniffed, blaming it on a runny nose and wiping it absently with one of his long sleeves. _You looked so happy with Mother…it's a shame that she can no longer smile like that. She was such a beautiful woman…she still is, but she no longer smiles like that for anybody…Not even for me or for Jun…_

Turning away from the picture and fridge, Ren made a slight huffing sound, a small growl escaping his lips at the bitter thought that his father was laughing at him. Despite how much he loved his father and how much his father respected and loved him, he couldn't help but feel the sudden rage overwhelm him, "You bastard…"

The taunting picture remained silent as ever.

-

"Hey Yoh…do you think that Ren made it back to his home safely…?" Horohoro looked worried, his usually happy expression marred by a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes. He watched the sky turn a slightly pink and red color and couldn't help but think of the pained look on Ren's face as he and his brown haired friend took him to the clinic, holding his arms around their shoulders to hold him up—the memory all too clear in his mind. Beside him on the park bench, Yoh opened one eye sleepily, but that didn't mean that he wasn't taking the moment seriously—it was a Yoh thing to look eternally spacey.

"Dunno," he answered honestly, staring up at the sky and also suddenly looking worried, "I really do hope that he made it home in one piece. He'd been avoiding us all day…it was like he was hiding something from us…from all of us."

Horo frowned, staring down at the ground. Ren? Hiding something from them? The three had been best of friends for many years, and they were all pretty keen on telling one another their troubles…for Ren to be hiding something…it had to be something pretty bad in his opinion…

"Is he…mad at us…?" Thinking the worse, Horo frowned even more, if possible. Yoh looked at his blue haired companion and frowned, shaking his head quickly.

"Heck no! Horo kun, don't think that. Ren's just hiding something from us, probably because he thinks that he can handle this himself. You know how Ren is—he's stubborn that way." The brown haired boy grinned in an assuring manner, and Horo felt himself feeling a bit better…but the unsettling feeling in his gut wouldn't let him go. It ate away at him, telling him silently that Ren was in serious trouble…

"Na!" A distant voice snapped him out of his thoughts and both Horo and Yoh looked over their shoulders to see who it was. Asakura Hao, Yoh's identical (but older by a few minutes) brother came walking over to them, hands in his pockets in a casual manner and waist length hair done up into a loose braid. He'd already made the trek home, judging from the fact that he was no longer in his school uniform, and was probably there for the sol purpose of bringing his brother home.

"Found you, Yoh." He grinned, his voice silky and sweet enough to catch a toothache. The eldest Asakura twin glanced at Horo, smiling sweetly, "Hullo Usui…fancy seeing you with my dear little brother." Horo nodded curtly and returned to his worried staring.

_He just loves rubbing in the fact that he's the eldest brother—pompous fruitcake._ Yoh bristled a bit, but he knew his brother meant well, and was only doing his brotherly duties to annoy him. "What do you want Hao?" he asked in a rather business like manner.

"Oh nothing really," Hao sniffed, absently playing with the string that held his braided hair together, "Mother's the one who wants you. She wants to see your report card, so you best hurry your butt along home"

Yoh winced slightly at the mentioning of the report card, but then looked over to Horo, scooping up his backpack before standing, "Don't worry too much Horo. Ren'll be just fine—we'll see him in school first thing tomorrow morning, so try not to think too much about it, okay?" Yoh forced a non-worried grin, but Horo wasn't convinced.

"So long as you don't worry your ass off…" Horo muttered softly, remaining seated on the bench. Yoh shot a real smile at him.

"I'll try to as long as you try to." He said simply, turning to walk off with Hao, "Call me when you get to your home, we can discuss homework and Ren later, ne? If Pirika doesn't kill you for being late that is…"

Horo chuckled at the thought of his younger sister (his only relative living in Japan with him at the time) trying to kill him with a frying pan and shook it off, staring up at the sky again.

Yet again, the image of Ren came to mind…

-

"Please no! _STOP!_"

"Shut up!" Another well placed blow sent Ren sprawling across the floor, beige carpet sprinkled with a bit of blood as the raven haired teen coughed, lungs begging for air. Something twanged horribly in his chest and he assumed that something was broken—perhaps a rib or two. Ren sat up shakily; facing his drunk and staggering uncle with a defying glare, hoping it was enough to stop the towering giant of a man. "You're staining the carpet you idiot boy…!" he slurred, Ren's molten eyes seething with anger.

"And whose fault is that, you bastard of a cow!" Ren snarled, but was rewarded with a harsh blow to the face. His defiance was quickly leaving, along with his consciousness. He felt another punch strike his body, and another, and another…How could he lie about the bruises now, he thought to himself as he felt a rivulet of blood run down his cheek and chin. En's shadow loomed over him, but no more blows came…instead, it was only his sickening low voice.

"You disgust me child. I don't know how Xiao and Ran put up with you. You disgrace to the Tao name." He couldn't be saying that—couldn't have meant it! "Go to your damned room—you have school tomorrow." With that being said, the bear of a man left Ren where he was, retreating off to his own room, probably to go break a few things. He'd never truly try to kill his own nephew…but someday he might go a little over…

Wincing in pain, Ren staggered up, crying out as his chest barely rose and fell and the pain became overbearing. He limped into the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing the number to his mother's phone, only to get the answering machine. It was almost always that way, either that or just a busy signal… "…Mother," he groaned, trying so hard to stay awake, but the pain in his body threatened to consume him, "Mother please…pick up the phone if you're home…I…" and whimper of pain escaped his lips, but it was quite enough to not get caught on the machine, "I want to talk to you…. Mom…please…" still there was no answer from the other line, and Ren let out a sigh of defeat, hanging up the phone and dragging himself up to his room. He made it up and locked his door, stripping himself down, wincing all the while, and sliding into bed, stifling a cry of pain and mental agony—half because of his physical condition, the other half because of the neglect and cold shoulder he was receiving from his mother.

It was late. He'd have to wash the blood off first thing in the morning before heading off to school or he'd have a field day with not only Horohoro and Yoh constantly on his case.

If he weren't so exhausted, he would've scolded himself for crying himself to sleep, an ill feeling washing over him.

-

Ren woke that morning with a fever, his gashes infected and badly bruised. He chanced a weak glance over to his alarm clock and noticed to his disdain—and yet pure joy—that he was _incredibly_ late for school. Shivering even under the thick blankets, Ren curled up as best as he could without irritating his wounded body and closed his eyes for a moment to fight off a wave of nausea. En had without a doubt headed off to work without regard for Ren's lateness to school. Seemed that even when not drunk, the man didn't seem to care…unless he had a few swigs of Midori brand sake before heading off to work.

Ren coughed, wheezing for breath as a punishment for not tending to the injury in his chest sooner. Gasping for breath, he began to think of the best way to cover up the fact that he was in so much pain.

_I could always lie and say that I fell down the stairs, or that I slipped in the shower…or have I already used those excuses…?_

His thoughts were ruined by the loud ping of the doorbell. Ren felt his heart sink at the image of Horo and Yoh standing at the threshold, ready to point the finger, but fought it back, thinking that it might just be some salesman, or even the postman if he was lucky. Fighting to stand, Ren limped over to his dresser and pulled out his father's old robe, tossing it on before staggering to the door, his breath shallower than ever as he tried to speak to the person on the other side of the door, "….I….I'm coming…" never could he imagine his voice so weak…

Opening the door, Ren's eyes went wide, trying to hide himself behind the large mahogany slab, but the damage had already been done and the boy noticed that it was him right off. "Ah, Tao san. I knew that you would be here and not ditching class. At least I hope not. I'd have to report you." The tone was good-natured and calm—Asakura Hao, no doubt. Ren peeked his head from behind the door and frowned slightly.

"Class Rep…" Ren sighed, thanking God that it wasn't Horo and Yoh…however, Hao _was_ Yoh's brother (aside from being the class representative), and he _could_ tell Yoh and Horo… "I'm not ditching class…I swear…I….I don't feel so well, Asakura san. Please don't tell anybody about this…"

Hao, at first, looked a little hesitant, but then nodded and smiled, "I won't tell. I'm here on behalf of Amidamaru sensei. It's our lunch period, so I figured I could bring in all of your assignments to you. Wouldn't want to be left behind you know." He chuckled (the straight-A student that he was always thinking about work…), but Ren didn't have any energy left to muster even a fake chuckle. This worried Hao, and it could be seen clearly on his face…

"Class Rep…" Ren started, but it lingered upon noticing that Hao was staring at the gash on his cheekbone. He gulped, afraid of what he was going to ask…

"You really don't look so well…" mocha brown eyes narrowed in a questioning manner, "What happened to you? Yesterday, both Usui san and Yoh looked worried about you. Were you in an accident…?"

"You…you could say that…" Ren panted, suddenly feeling incredibly hot and cold all at the same time, his chest burning. "I…I have to go back to bed please Asakura san…I'm sorry. Thank you for the work, I won't fall behind."

He'd obviously said something right, for Hao was actually smiling and ready to leave. Ren shut the door quickly and stumbled into the kitchen, slumped against the fridge as he felt the world around him grow dark and cold. He dropped the papers Hao had given him, shivering violently as his body hit the floor not soon after the papers did, head hitting the ground with a painful thump. "Somebody….help…" he found himself whimpering, blood trickling out of the side of his mouth as he stared helplessly up at the ceiling, his gaze catching the picture on the fridge before the darkness and cold completely enveloped him…

_Father…. Horohoro…Yoh…help…_

-

The school bell rang once, twice, and a third and final time. Horo stared off at the chalkboard in a daze, watching Amidamaru sensei talking as if he was on mute. Glancing over to Yoh, the blue haired boy sighed, noticing his brown haired companion had fallen asleep at his desk, Hao giving his brother a disapproving look, despite the fact that his sibling couldn't see him through shut lids.

The digital clock on the wall read 1:15 in the afternoon, the red letters taunting him, telling him that he still had a long way to go before getting out of school. A few words managed to seep into his brain as he watched Amidamaru sensei lecture the class on some dull subject. Really, only one thing was going through his mind—a simple question.

Where was Ren…?

Something poked at his lower thigh and Horo glanced over his shoulder to see Hao smiling warmly from his seat, arm outstretched to hand the blue haired Ainu boy a folded piece of paper. Curious, Horo took it with a confused look, unfolding it at his desk and reading the neat handwriting that covered the first line.

_Usui kun…why so glum looking? Chill out—everything is just fine. Tao san's at home._ The short letter said. At the last sentence, Horo's eyes went wide, his hand reaching for his pencil to scribble down something on the same paper.

_You saw Ren today? Did he look fine to you when you handed him his papers? Was he in pain or anything? Why didn't he come to class? Is he ill?_ He wrote as fast as he could get his hand to work, folding and handing the paper over to Hao, wary of Amidamaru sensei's glances over the class, hoping that he wouldn't get caught…even more of a shocker to the class and sensei would be getting caught with the _class representative_ of all people (considering Hao was the last person to expect breaking any rules or not paying attention).

Hao took the letter and read it slowly, calmly. The eldest Asakura twin then picked up his pencil and wrote back, handing it over to an eagerly waiting Horo.

_Like I said before. Chill out, Usui kun. Tao san is just fine, I think. He was just ill….however…That's only what he would want me to say…he did seem a little too ill if you ask me. He looked horrible, to tell you the truth, I don't think he's so swell, but he obviously didn't want me questioning. I didn't ask, I just left him alone. May I suggest that you and Yoh check in on him after school? It would be best._

Folding the paper and nodding to Hao, Horo handed the paper back, the eldest Asakura twin writing something on the paper and poking his younger brother with it. With a soft snort, Yoh woke up, wiping the drool off of his chin and giving his brother a sleepy and questioning gaze before opening the paper and reading it.

Certainly enough, it woke him up and he had written something on it and handed it back to Hao, nodding at Horo, who nodded back, not noticing Amidamaru sensei's censorious look until it was too late, and all he could really do was smile sheepishly at the silver haired man.

"Gomen, Amidamaru sensei." Horohoro muttered softly as the teacher briskly started up the subject again…Utter humiliation, but cut short by his ever-growing fear of Ren's condition.

The end of the school day had finally come, Yoh and Horo hurrying out through the school doors, backpacks slung over their shoulders as they ran. Hao had obviously decided to be incredibly kind to them by letting them leave the classroom without cleaning, in which they were thankful for. Panting, their lungs stinging, the two boys continued on until they reached Ren's house, the large place dark, curtains drawn, not a single light lit in the inside nor out. No car was in the driveway so they came to the conclusion that En Tao was not around.

"Do you think that Ren's inside sleeping?" Yoh asked Horo, completely out of breath like his blue haired companion. They were both the athletic type, mind, but the run at such speed and no break exhausted them…

Horo shrugged, walking over to the door and knocking gently. When nobody answered he knocked again, only a bit harder this time, "Ren chan! Are you in? Answer the door please!" he called out, not really caring if his shouting was disturbing the neighbors. Not like either of the Tao's ever made an effort to meet their neighbors—surliness seemed to run in the family…Again, when their was no answer, he called out to Ren again, still getting no response. Yoh walked over to Horo and the door, jiggling the knob to see if it was locked or not.

"It's unlocked…" The brown haired boy confirmed, twisting the knob all the way and opening the door, but the disapproving glare he got from Horo had taken him aback for a moment, a look that said Are-we-allowed-to-do-this? Yoh smiled sheepishly, and Horo simply sighed and shook his head, "Come on. What if something bad happened to him? What if Ren can't get out of bed and needs a doctor really badly? We have no choice but to go in, ne?"

It seemed that their was no reason to indulge any further, for Horo had bolted into the house, fearing that Yoh might have jinxed their luck—which he had an uncanny ability to do so. Yoh rushed in shortly after, plunging into the darkness of the house and looking about blindly, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was a yelp of surprise, and a dull thud as Horo fell to his knees, butt hitting the ground shortly after.

"What happened?" Yoh asked in an alarmed but hushed voice, the atmosphere frightening him into a whisper for some reason. Horo looked over to his companion and scratched the back of his head, feeling a small blush heat up his cheeks in embarrassment.

"I tripped on air…" Horo whimpered, trying to let out a sheepish chuckle to lighten the mood, but it seemed that neither of them could find it funny at the moment. Yoh rushed over to the steps after helping the blue haired boy up, looking over his shoulders to him.

"I'm going to check the upstairs as quick as I can. You check down here, okay? Try not to trip again." Yoh muttered softly, running up the stairs after confirming it with the Ainu. Horo looked around in the darkness with a groan of displeasure. _Try not to trip_? He did have to try to not trip—he had a tendency to be a bit clumsy, maybe too clumsy. Ren and Yoh had their off days too, but whenever he would have one, he'd still screw something over, even sitting down.

As he rounded a corner, thinking of how many things he'd wrecked in his house alone, he entered the kitchen, dark and silent, but the window next to the sink let some of the afternoon sun in. It beamed down on the white tiled floor, and Horo came to notice a small form mostly hidden by the island in the middle of the kitchen. It was then that Horo came to hear a very labored breath and his eyes went wide…

"Yoh! Get down here!" Horo rushed to a fallen Ren's side, his face going pale with horror at the crumpled sight of his Chinese companion, the raven haired boy gasping for breath and barely conscious, molten eyes hazed over and heavy lidded. Yoh skid to a stop behind Horo, horrorstruck as well at the sight of Ren, the large bruises claiming his body and bloodstains that seemed smeared across the boy's pallid frame…

"Oh God…" Yoh uttered softly, fighting to keep himself standing as his knees buckled weakly. Horo knelt down and gently touched Ren's forehead, heat radiating even through the silk robes that the raven-haired boy wore. He was incredibly feverish. Horo opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. There was a great lump in his throat.

"Yoh…" he finally managed, swallowing the lump, "You may not have been kidding about him needing a doctor…"

-

The siren's wail was still echoing in his ears even long after it was gone…

Yoh tried hard to ignore it by putting the volume of his headphones to its maximum. Seated beside him, Horo sat slumped on the bench next to the hall of the emergency room, the blue haired Ainu staring at the ground with a look of complete loss and worry. Without hesitation, the two had called the hospital for an emergency vehicle, both fearing the worse for their companion…but all that they could do now was wait and hope for the best… Yoh had to bite his tongue to keep himself from jinxing anything, his gaze drifting downward to the off-white ground below him. After what felt like an eternity, Horo looked up, having heard the slight ping of the emergency room lights doing out. He poked at his companion's shoulders as he noticed a doctor slip out through the swinging doors, bearing a notepad and a weary look. Yoh instantly stood, his headphones falling from their position over his ears. Horo had also stood up so swiftly that he had almost fallen back over.

"Well…?" Horo could no longer contain it. The doctor gave him a weary smile, one that was kindly but tired nonetheless.

"Young Tao Ren is fine now. His condition was horrible when he was brought in, no doubt, but we managed to stabilize it and kill down his fever a little." The doctor muttered softly, trying to keep the hospitals near silent atmosphere the way that it was. "He'll have to remain here for the night and undergo an examination, so it'd be best for you two to head off home now. We'll contact his family."

"How bad…were…his wounds?" Yoh managed to croak out, his throat unbearably tight. The doctor glanced down at his notepad and began to read off some of his notes.

"Two broken ribs on his left side, and a slight fracture in his right ankle. Nothing too bad about the ankle wound, but the broken ribs caused him much trouble with breathing. Seems that one of the broken sections nearly punctured his lung, and we had a great deal of trouble trying to help with that problem because we feared that there was some internal bleeding. All other injuries on his body are simple bruises and cuts and those were easily dealt with. He's just fine now, but his fever has yet to ebb away."

Horo and Yoh both felt a pang in their hearts, a deep fear and yet great relief mingling in their minds. Horo tried to swallow yet another lump that found its way into his throat, his mind filling with thousands of questions to ask, but nothing came out. The same seemed to go for Yoh, who started almost dumbfounded at the doctor. At least the color had returned to his companion's face… He found himself wondering if he was still incredibly pale with fear and worry.

"It's late," the doctor spoke up, his voice cutting through the numb silence that fell upon the boys, "You two should head back to your homes. Don't you have classes to attend to?" Both Horo and Yoh had wanted to retaliate with a 'yeah, but…', but before they could open their mouths to speak, another voice made its way to them through the vast hallway.

"Yoh, Horo…come now you two. You will be able to see Ren tomorrow afternoon." Both Yoh and Horo turned their heads to see whom it was, Yoh smiling slightly before turning around to greet the dark haired woman slowly walking over to them, Hao a few steps behind her and actually jogging to keep up with her long strides.

"Hello, Mother…" Yoh smiled wearily, the lady, Keiko Asakura smiling widely at her youngest son as she reached him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and glancing over to Horo.

"I heard that something was amiss thanks to your brother here, Yoh. At least he wasn't lying…now, what exactly is going on here? Did something happen to Ren?" Keiko looked around at the group of males that surrounded her as if waiting for an answer, but when none came, a confused look spread across her beautiful face.

"That's what we would like to know Mrs. Asakura…" Horo finally spoke up, the lump in his throat gone, "We found Ren in his house, but we don't know why he's the way he is or how he ended up that way…"

"It seemed to me," Hao began, his mother giving him a pondering look, "that he was hiding something…some truth that he didn't want anybody else to know…Usui kun, Yoh, do you two know of anything? You two are his best friends, he should have told you something…"

This last comment made Horo feel bitter, and odd anger that lingered there pushing through and making it evident that it was bothering him, despite his attempts to hold it in. Yoh gave his blue haired friend a worried look and then glared slightly at his brother, as if silently snapping at him for making Horo feel that way. "No, he didn't tell us anything, Hao." Yoh growled softly, "You should know how Ren is. He's really stubborn and he doesn't like to burden people with his problems…I'm sure that he'll tell us in due time. There's no way that he can hide the truth from us now that we know something's up."

Horo stared down at the ground sadly, though he was thankful for his friend's support. Yoh placed a hand on Horo's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, as if telling him things would be just fine.

Somehow, Horo did and yet didn't believe what Yoh was telling him…

Keiko decided to cut through the mood with a bit of positive-ness, "Well, it's no use trying to figure it out right now. Just wait until tomorrow. I'm certain that Ren will explain things in due time. Until then, let's go." Yoh nodded reluctantly, and Keiko smiled simply, glancing at Horo before adding, "Horohoro, you are more than welcome to stay over at our place for the night. Things are rough, I know…but maybe a hot dip in the onsen will make things better? Come now, what do you say?"

Horohoro kept his gaze on the ground, trying to fight back the sting of tears. Never had he felt so frustrated in years, so unyielding to everything as he did that night. He sighed, letting out his sadness, and looked back up to Keiko, giving her a weak smile, "Thank you Mrs. Asakura…I guess I'll accept your invitation…"

Maybe what they all really needed _was_ a nice, long dip in the onsen…

-Tsuzuku-

A/N: So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Continue, or stop-this-at-once?


End file.
